


Moon River

by Turnaroundeverynowandthen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Harry Potter Next Generation, Humor, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 16:05:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17491046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turnaroundeverynowandthen/pseuds/Turnaroundeverynowandthen
Summary: During the last leg of an international tour, Rose finds herself at odds with the burgeoning music act she's been put in charge of. Can she manage an out-of-control lead singer, a tumultuous familial clash, a rabid fan-base, a demanding record label, and most of all, the ever-increasing hammerings of her heart whenever a certain blonde bassist appears? Post-Hogwarts. Next Gen. Slow burn.





	1. Chapter 1

She could feel it… she could physically feel the anticipation in the arena, even from where she was situated backstage. The chants from the crowd would be enough to get your heart racing…

“Gol-den!” *clap clap* “Tri-o!” *stomp stomp*, “Gol-den!” *clap clap* “Tri-o!” *stomp stomp*

She had heard all of it before… the roar of the crowd… the deafening screams...the ruckus of a full bodied crowd… but somehow, this evening felt different. There was an intensity, an electricity, a sense of (dare she say it) ...magic?

“Gol-den!” *clap clap* “Tri-o!” *stomp stomp*, “Gol-den!” *clap clap* “Tri-o!” *stomp stomp*

The name had started off as a joke, an ironic jab to dull the ache of a life weighed down by silent expectation. Because they so weren’t. Golden, that is. At this point, all three were truly one shade slight of being the dark marks on proverbial family trees. 

But now, in the same way the phrase had been branded onto their person as a detached notion of who they were, something out of any control, with a weight “I didn’t ask for”, it was commercially sealed, something they took back, re-appropriated and gave their own powers to on a seemingly innocuous night fueled by teen angst and fire whisky.

“Gol-den!” *clap clap* “Tri-o!” *stomp stomp*, “Gol-den!” *clap clap* “Tri-o!” *stomp stomp*

The music had saved them, or, at least, thats what Rose believed. Ginny or Mum may say otherwise, but Rose knew where Al had been before that fateful Muggle Studies class. She’d talked him off the ledge too many times to believe otherwise. Music had saved him. She could only imagine it had done the same for Scorpius…

While before, the hushed and worried whisperings between parents would consist of …anti-social behavior…missing class…marks dropping…can’t get a word out of them…

They then turned into full blown shouting matches “Galleons on records!? I’m not made of money, Albus!” “Rose Weasley, you will NOT be going to a midnight concert, I don’t CARE that it’s Aurora Borealis or Hippo-Gruff playing- or whoever it is, you aren’t going!” “After hours shows at school?! Who do you both think you are?! You can’t use your common room as your own personal venue! Not when your test scores are this atrocious”

Their apathy may have transformed into full blown deviance, but at least there was an energy, an electricity in their actions. Before, Rose and Al felt suffocated; the heaviness of their namesake felt devastating and inescapable. After the music, the sullen and withdrawn youths turned into fiery, aggressive teens whose drive and passion left many burnt in their wake. 

The music got to Al first. He had always been one to play closer attention to WWN’s ‘Magical Music Hour’, or get caught up leafing through grandpa’s attic-banished collection of muggle records, but it wasn’t until his 4th year MS class, and a course on classical European instruments turned his inclination into a full blown obsession. From the very first strum, he could feel something powerful happening inside him. He felt calm and collected. For the first time in his life he wasn’t thinking about his incomparable older brother, his worrying mother, his domineering family, his house loyalty, or his father…whose words spoke of understanding and trust, but eyes always said otherwise. He was in control.

It had been months before he shared his secret with Rose. Hearing him play for the first time, stirred something deep inside her. A longing for something she barely could recognize in herself. What he played was unlike anything she had heard before. 

Before she knew what was happening, his music inspired a tidal waves of words, seeming to truly pour out of Rose. All the thoughts and feelings trapped beneath her surly exterior, the things she could never confess to her mother or find solace in a friend, came out in prose and poetry Rose was stunned by. They spent an entire summer, hidden in the aforementioned attic, writing song after song; Al taking the lead vocally, with Rose harmonizing with her small voice. 

Back at school, students began to notice a change in the two previously unapproachable cousins. It was not uncommon to see Al walking around with a guitar slung round his shoulder; the token red-head by his side intensely scribbling at a notebook. At the urging of a fellow Slytherin, Al put on his first performance in the house common room. It took a bit more than pumpkin juice to finally calms his nerves enough for him to stand on stage, but by the end of the first song, it was as if a spell had been cast on the silver-toned crowd. Usually, jaded to the point of boredom these Slytherins were absolutely awestruck. Albus was soulful, sensitive, energetic and charismatic all at the same time, he completely commanded every eye in the room. Everyone present that evening could sense that they were privy to something much, much bigger. 

By 5th year, Albus wanted to expand on his sound and bring things to the next level. Enter Scorpius Malfoy.

Rose wasn’t sure if it was a genuine fondness between the two of them, or an equal desire to really stick-it to their fathers…either way, at some point in their time at Hogwarts, being stuck in the same house, they had become aware of each others presence and developed a somewhat mutual respect for one another. 

The music had been ahold of Scorpius for longer than he could remember. Where Albus was self-taught and relatively unrestrained in his musical approach, Scorpius was classically trained with technical perfection (the benefit of having a doting mother with privilege to an ample Gringotts vault). Albus played what he felt, what he heard. Scorpius could tell you what you were playing, why you were playing it and he knew exactly what to tweak to bring it to an entirely different place.

All of a sudden, it was three. One unpredictable and unrestrained, one determined and passionate; the newest addition, serious and enigmatic… All three drawn together by a more unifying and mysterious magic than the one practiced. 

A pulsing of her wand brought Rose out of her revery. Red hue…and emergency, must be Tommy…always an emergency with him, she thought. She flicked her wand up, the red hue swirling in front of her

“Rosie, love!” a heady voice shouted from the mist “How’s Belgium, I hear the weather’s beautiful this time of year!”

“Barely portkeyed in this morning, Tom” Rose interjected, “Boys have been sleeping, and I came down early for sound check. Haven’t had much of a chance for sight seeing”

“Always the hard worker, time for a vacation soon, right love?”

Rose rolled her eyes, Right.

“Listen, the boys are on tomorrow with Ada Drimscle, 10:30. 5 hour junket Can you make sure they’re at least presentable?”

“Of course, Tom.” Rose internally dreaded the tirade or protests she would receive from the band members come the morning. 

“I’ll have Deliah send over details in a bit. You’ll be landing in Paris. Have a croissant for me, right love?”

“Anything for you, Tom” she replied, sardonically. 

Her wand pulsed once and the red hue along with Tommy’s “Ciao” quickly disappeared.

Almost as if on cue, Marty their drummer, a truly unaffecting boy with large eyes, an aimless personality and a fortunate rhythmic inclination, came running toward her. 

“Rose-hey!” There was a hapless smile on his face, but she could see a swirling of worrying staved beneath this exterior, “Rose! It’s Al…”

Oh Gods. Not again.

“He’s… um… he’s not coming out-hey. He says he needs to talk to you..”

Rose let out a frustrated groan, and began to book it towards the dressing rooms.

“You lot are supposed to be on in less than 5 minutes! Can you make sure to let him know that next time he decides to have an existential crisis, he needs to do it after you’ve performed?”

Marty laughed nervously, barely keeping up behind her, “Will do-hey! Next time!”

As she reared upon her destination, she was aware of the expectant glances from crew members. It’s fine, I’ll handle it… she tried to convey.

“I’ve been kicked out..” she heard a low voice say to her. She rounded the corner, running into Nadia, makeup artist, “If he decides to come to his senses, let me know.” She gave Rose a knowing look, “I’m taking a smoke break.” 

“I’m so sorry, Nads” Rose called out over her shoulder, “I’m buying you a drink when we’re through!”

A wordless wave from Nadia was all Rose could catch as she practically sprinted down the hallway.

A slumped figure sat at the end of it, head resting on his knees. He slowly rose as he heard her footsteps get closer. 

Scorpius. 

He looked resigned. His face colorless, his eyes lacking their usual snap. A weary expression. He began to open his mouth to speak. She didn’t let him. 

“I know.” she said, calmly, “I know you tried, you don’t have to tell me.”, a small smile.

His eyes softened, he let out a sigh. A moment of understanding passed between them. 

It didn’t last long. 

A small feminine giggle could be heard from the other side of the dressing room door. 

Of course she’s here…Rose could feel her skin crawl, the frustration growing deeper still. She placed her ear to the door.

“Al!” She shouted, firmly. “Albus Potter!”

Silence. 

“Al, what in the bloody hell is wrong with you?”

Continued silence.

“Al, you know I can and will blow this door off in an instant, so for the sake of you and me and this beautiful venue that has been so generous as to ask you to come perform, please, I beg of you, open the god damn do-“

A resounding click signaled Roses momentary triumph. 

There was a veritable squalor awaiting Rose when she opened the door. Empty bottles, toppled chairs, a mysterious green powder in lines on a low table. Oh Al…

More upsetting than any of this, however, was the waif-like, wide-eyed skirt currently draped across her tantrum-ing cousin. Al’s latest simpering slag.

“Posey.” Rose commanded in a steely tone “Out.”

The young girl looked at her blankly, barely registering the presence of the domineering red-head. Rose took steps toward her. She could see Posey now sizing up the threat.

In a voice like ice, she repeated. “Out…Now.”

She knew Posey was more scared of her than devoted to Al, so she quickly hopped off him and haughtily wobbled out of the room. 

Rose turned on her cousin, her anger barely contained beneath her subdued exterior. 

“Rosie, I can’t…I just can’t” His head was rocking slightly, his eyes glassy and partly vacant. He looked awful. 

“You’re drunk!” She shouted, waving her wand; the room slowly beginning to assemble itself. “I can’t believe you.” 

“I promise you, I’m not!” He rebutted. 

Rose scoffed, gesturing to the steady clink of glass bottles slowly filling the waste bin. 

“Pos and I- we just had a few drinks. I’m fine, I swear!” He got up suddenly, teetering slightly “it’s not that, I just can’t go on stage, I can’t!”

Rose ignored his protests, making her way to the bathroom to fill a glass of water. 

“You go on in two minutes.” she said, handing him the glass, “Drink this.”

He dramatically threw up his hands and turned from her, “I told you, I’m not going on! You’re just going to have to tell them I’m not showing and we’ll have to cancel the whole thing. People will understand…I can’t do it”

She placed the water on the table beside her, ignoring traces of the faint green dust. Another conversation for another time. 

“You keep saying that.”, she sighed. 

“It’s because I mean it.” he said, throwing himself back down on the sofa. “My dad sent another letter.”

Rose kept her voice emotionless. “And what did it say?”

“…I didn’t open it. I couldn’t.”

“Are you joking me, Al?”

“Pos doesn’t think I should have to. She thinks it’ll upset me too much. She doesn’t think I should have to go on either.”

“Oh! So she’s the proverbial voice of reason around here now, is she?! I should hope not.” Rose barely managed to keep the mirth out of her voice. 

The shadow of a figure loomed in her eyesight. Scorpius silently leaned against the door frame. Thankful to no longer be one-on-one with the man-child currently fuming around the dressing room, she upped her game. 

“Fine.”, She countered. “Don’t go on. Scorpius and Marty can do the show without you. Your fans will be disappointed, but not as disappointed as they’ll be when we tell them you couldn’t bare to make an appearance due to a mysterious letter from your father and a belligerent girlfriend!”

“Rose-it’s not like that-“

“-In fact!” she interjected, letting the anger finally boil over. A calculated effect “Why don’t I go out on stage and tell everyone myself that this will be the very last show Golden Trio will ever perform, because not only is their lead singer too far up his own ass to understand how much this means to everyone”, she began to slowly walk towards him, “but their manager, the one who has tirelessly worked for years and years to bring this beloved musical spectacle to where it is now, is leaving, due to the fact that she is sick and tired of dragging a tantrum-ing child on stage every night, when she could be doing something lovely by comparison, like breeding Mandrakes in Siberia!”

They stared each other down. Al’s exterior was resolute, but she could see the inner conflict. She knew she had won…This time.   
“R-Rose“ He sputtered, “The letter- my Dad- I can’t”

“Al… I’ll pull the card. You know I will” She countered in a low tone, for extra measure. She didn’t like resorting to it, but this time, he bloody deserved it. “Don’t make me.”

His eyes narrowed, not yet ready to admit defeat. “Rose-“

“-At least you have a Dad to write you letters.” 

The low blow. Last cartridge in her firearm. She could hear an exhale of breath from Scorpius behind her, “I would… love the luxury of ignoring a well-meaning letter from my father, Al, but we both know that isn’t possible. Do I need to remind you why it’s not possible?”

Al’s eyes lowered, a final accept of defeat. 

“You have ten seconds.” She said, quietly, “Ten seconds to walk out this door and get on that stage to your adoring fans or I’m done. One way ticket to Siberia. I’ll stop and visit my dead father along the way. Send him your love.”

She turned quickly, walking past Scorpius and out into the hallway. They locked eyes for a moment. A knowing look shared between the two of them. 

She leaned against the wall for a beat, taking a deep breath and silently counting down.

4…3…2…

————————————————————————

“How’re you feeling tonight Brussels?!”

The response from the crowd was deafening. 

Rose had to admit, these moments were what made all she did worth it. All the late nights, the tireless treks from city to city, managing schedules, press agents, stylists, fans, girlfriends…All of it. They were truly spectacular to watch. So much fire and energy and talent… seeing them come alive on stage was what made her tired and jaded heart soar. Al and Scorpius had such a genuine stage presence, and Marty (who hadn’t any talent for much else) was a commanding and engaging percussionist. You couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the trio. 

A shriek from beside her caused a momentary lapse in her revery. Speaking of girlfriends… Posey was standing next to her having a veritable conniption at the sight of the boys playing on stage. 

Rose rolled her eyes, casting a silent spell between them. The shrieking was thankfully now just a dull murmur.

That’s the problem with watching everything backstage…Rose thought, You can’t lose yourself in a crowd… You’re very much stuck with the present company…

Posey’s shrieking continued… So much so, a particularly guttural scream caught the attention of the three performers on stage. Got to give her credit for tenacity…Rose thought.

Both Marty and Al glanced over for a moment, registering the noise as less of a threat, and more of a passionate declaration of love (something they were used to). Scorpius, on the other hand, looked briefly at Posey but his eyes quickly moved to Rose and locked there. 

His expression was…confused? Startled? Rose was unable to read it. He seemed to be uncertain of his own reaction. For a brief instant, Rose was worried there was some commotion happening behind her. She turned around to face the threat, but there was nothing. When she turned back, he was attending to the crowd at hand. The moment lasted for neigh of a second, but it left Rose a bit shaken, wondering as if it had really happened, or if she had merely imagined it. 

It had been a very long day…

—————————————————————

4am. It was four bloody am in the morning. 

After a show, there was always a mild ruckus. There was the final song… and then the encore…and then the final final song…then the goodbye…Then the backstage crowd…always a friend from from school… or a friend of a friend…or a introduction from a wizard of an elevated status… there was always some bottle or another being passed around…

This, Rose didn’t mind much. Once the show was over, the majority of her job was done. She would even indulge in a sip or two (or three) from the aforementioned bottle. It was always a bit fun seeing who might come through the backstage doors. Many a night, the company was promoted to an evening-long companion for one of the bandmates. Hell, even Rose herself could count more than a few backstage guests who had struck her fancy and somehow found their way into her hotel room later in the evening. (A sizable party currently making an impression in the green room was the German Minister of Magic’s young daughter and her gaggle of friends. Definitely a bit of a keen eye for Albus. He didn’t mind. Posey definitely did.) 

By the time the crew had packed up, the stadium had cleared out and the dummerchen had their pop star fix, it was…late. 

——————————————————————

“Woooo! I love Belgium, Rosie… The nicest people…truly…just…So lovely”

4am. It was four bloody am in the morning.

They had just portkeyed into Paris. 

In classic Tommy-fashion, the hotel they were meant to be posted in for their stay in the city, was either mis-informed of their arrival time or couldn’t be bothered to stay open till they got there. 

Either way, they were stranded in the streets of Paris, with no where to rest their heads for the night. Another shout from Al broke the silence of the early morning. 

“Al, shush!” Rose chastised, “You’re going to wake the entire street”. She was doing her best to alert the hotel owner, and not wake up the entire city while she was at it.

Al was two or more sheets to the wind. Marty was close on his heels, and Scorpius, true to form, was losing his patience.

“I hope you aren’t truly devastated by our geographic relocation, Al” his eyes were closed, he was sitting on the sidewalk outside, leaning against the brick wall of the building, “but, if you hadn’t noticed, we are no longer in Belgium.”

Al, who was slowly spinning round a lamppost, fire whisky bottle in hand, stopped for a moment and looked at his friend expectantly. 

Scorpius didn’t even bother to open his eyes, “nous sommes à paris, mon ami”, he said quietly.

Al widened his eyes and turned his head around slowly, as if taking in his surroundings for the very first time, “Bloody hell!” He shouted, again breaking the silence, “I love Paris!”

“Al!” Rose turned on him sharply, “I mean it! Shush up or find somewhere else to be. Somewhere you can be as belligerent as you insist on being right now.”

He jumped down from his lamppost, and ran up to Marty, who was slumped in a corner. 

“Mart!”, he said shaking the boy vigorously, “Mart! We're in Paris!”, he continued to shake, “Paris!”

Mart was awakened from his stupor and convinced to find the nearest open establishment where he and Al could refresh their libations. 

“Scorp, we’re in Paris! Come with! They’ll be birds a’plenty ’s my guess. -French birds at that”, he raised his brow

“French hens!” interjected Marty, his small body bouncing about in an attempt to stay warm. 

“Absolutely not.”, he countered, resolutely, still not opening his eyes. “Freezing out here is a welcome alternative to watching you two make fools of yourselves for the rest of the evening” He opened his eye to look at his watch and sighed, “Well- morning.”

Al barely registered this as a response, “Suns not out yet, mate!”

Scorpius’s eyes met with Rose momentarily, “Besides, someone’s got to stay here with Weasley” quirk of an eyebrow, “Keep her safe. Fend off… mimes.”

“Suit yourself!” Al called out, as him and Marty jauntily wandered down the street arm in arm, 

“Al! You’ve got to be back here in less than 4 hours!”, Rose called out “Please keep your wand on you!”

“Ferme La!!”, shouted a voice from one of the apartments above. Scorpius chuckled.

“Of course” Rose, said exasperatedly, "He’s out here making an absolute racket, and I raise my voice once and I get told to shut-up”

“Sacre bleu…” Scorpius said in a quiet, almost sarcastic tone. His eyes were closed again, his head leaning against the wall. Rose sighed. 

“I’m going to try the manager one more time..” she said quietly, almost to herself. After another half hour of unanswered calls and fruitless banging on doors, Rose was disheartened and even more exhausted than she had been before. She had been looking forward to a hot shower and a small bit of rest before the insanity of the tour began again.

She slumped down against the wall and sighed, laying her head on her knees and allowing her hands to drop to the floor. Defeat. She was…so tired. 

“M” she heard Scorpius say, softly. She assumed he had fallen asleep. His slow, steady breathing being the one calming presence in her frazzled attempts to get them a place to sleep. 

“Come again?” She said, now seeing a small flask in her peripheries. He was offering. She was thankful.

“M” He said, again, opening his eyes and looking at her. “You go first. I went first last time.”

Their game. Well, not their game. Just a game… That they played. 

“Oh, hmm…” She grabbed the flask in his outstretched hand and took a swig, grateful for the warmth. “M..aggie Magpyie.”

“…Ministers of Mayhem.”

It started when they were much younger, and had first began playing shows. Lots of tension, even more waiting around. The game became an easy way to pass time. 

“Muffy Lato.” Another swig.

One of them would give a letter and they would go back and forth naming as many musical artists as they could think of until they could name no more. 

Talking, really talking, didn’t come easy for either one of them. The game was a safe place, especially in moments when their words seemed to fall short of escaping their mouths. 

“Michael Jackson.”

“I thought we said ‘no Muggle artists’ last time we played” Rose teased, “Because you will win if I acquiesce on that point.”

“I still win no matter what, Weasley” she could hear a smile in his voice. He paused, “Fine. No muggle-music… Mr. Moke” 

“No, no! I’ll play your game” She laughed, passing back the flask “I’ve been brushing up on my music history…um…”

“I’m waiting…”

“Shush- I can’t think… Madonna!” She shouted, widening her eyes at her own volume. “Madonna..” she whispered.

“You’re going to make even more enemies if you keep that up.” another eyebrow quirk, “But good one. Hmm… Meat Loaf.”

“Is that a band?”

“No, he is a delightfully eccentric American artist.” He took a drink.

“…I barely believe you. But I’m too tired right now to care” She breathed, leaning her head against the wall, staring up at the barely visible stars. 

Another deep breath, “Mariah Carey.”

A pause from Scorpius, “Who is that?”

She narrowed her eyes and turned her head to look at him, “You’ve never heard of Mariah Carey? You? I can guarantee she’s more well-known than Meat-Ball”

“Meat Loaf, love” 

He coughed, seemingly caught off guard by his own words. “Ahem- but this…Mariah…I’ve never heard of her.”

“Oh come on, she’s got that… insane muggle Christmas song?”

He looked at her expectantly.

“You know..” She could feel whatever was in his flask begin to melt her inhibitions “It’s like…make my wish come true…” her voice got high and sing-song, “All I want for Christmas… is you…”

She caught a mischievous look in his eye.

“You arse!” She smacked his arm, “You total arse.”

“Shh!” He said, chuckling “You’ll get another shouting-to from our neighbors. ”

“I can’t believe you made me sing that. You knew the whole time.”

“It was wholly decent, Weasley” he smiled at her. “Mariah would be proud.” She narrowed her eyes at him and grabbed the flask from him. 

“I’m confiscating this” she said, taking another large swig. “It’s mine. You can have it back in the morning. After the junket.”

Scorpius groaned. “What time does that begin again?”

“Your first interview is at 9…”

“And it’s now 5…” he sighed, resigned.

Rose shivered. The early morning mist was beginning to settle. She felt a sudden warmth around her. The freezing brick wall she was sat against became as cozy and inviting as a fire-warmed den. She looked over at Scorpius, to see if he had noticed the sudden change. 

He was holding his wand between the two of them, a warming-spell cast, enveloping both. Rose’s heart twinged. Dangerous move, young lady. She put the flask down, contemplating the possibility that being out of her right mind wouldn’t exactly be an aide considering her tired state and her…surroundings. 

“Thanks” She sighed, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes. The warmth and the booze mixed was making her very aware of how tired she truly was. Her head began to nod.

“Do you always stand backstage and watch us?” the words seemed to tumble out of Scorpius.

“…Yeah” She said slowly, “I’m usually backstage..”

“You stay and watch the whole time?”

“If I don’t get pulled away, yeah” Rose said

“I’d never realized you were there”, he seemed to be searching for his words, “I’m typically not looking off to the side when I’m on stage.” 

“Got to hand it to Posey” Rose joked, “She grabbed the attention of all three of you”

Scorpius smiled, but it didn’t reach is eyes. “The power of Posey…” he said softly

“The power of Posey…” Rose repeated, even softer, “Sounds like a band name. Maybe I’ll go ahead and manage them as well..”

Scorpius didn’t laugh. He didn’t hear her. He was off in his own world for a minute. Rose began to nod off again. 

“Ro-Weasley, I-“ 

His voice snapped her out of her dozing. “Hm?”. 

She looked at him. She realized this was the first time she had really looked at him since Al and Marty left. They shared many knowing, exasperated, understanding looks with one another in the time spent together day to day, but it was always in a crowd, or around Al. When it was just the two of them, alone, unencumbered by Al’s domineering and flamboyant presence, or the pressures of running one of the most successful musical acts of their generation, Rose found it very hard, for some reason, to…well…look at him. 

She couldn’t exactly put her finger on it, but whenever she felt his gaze on her with no one else around, she began to get…uneasy? Not exactly that.. Something about his gaze made her heart pound a bit harder and her stomach churn unexpectedly. 

Like now. She was looking at him, eyes flitting from his his face to his hands…his ears…his mouth…desperately seeking asylum anywhere but his eyes. 

He was, again, searching for words. He was bouncing his leg, something she’d seem him do countless times before shows or events, something she knew he only did when he was nervous. Oh god…what’s he going to tell me now? She could see the conflict on his face. 

“Weasley, I- I just- Sometimes… I think-

A panic began to rise in her. Countless possibilities shot through her at lightning speed, each one more devastating and life altering than the last. She had to stop it, she had to.

“Spit it out, mate!” she practically barked. 

That was all it took for the moment to be broken. She could see something fracture and then quickly, resolutely repair itself behind his eyes. The spell he had cast was still emitting its warm glow, but she could feel a deeper, icier cold settle between the two of them. 

“I was going to say… I’m sorry Al gave you a difficult time earlier this evening.” Liar, she thought. But she was grateful still for the change in direction. Al was another safe zone. A common ground for the two of them. Al was always a comfortable distraction.

“It’s…just the season we’re in right now” she countered, “Once tour is over, things will settle…”

He bobbed his head in silent agreement.

“I just hope he’s not too far gone by the time we get there…” she sighed. 

“He needs to ditch the skirt. Posey- I mean” Scorpius, countered pointedly, “She’s bad news. I’m all for fun and games, but she’s got a seemingly endless supply of Alihotsy Powder and…drama”

“Especially drama” Rose sighed, “What he needs is to talk to his father. There’s a reason he won’t slow down with this…madness. He’s making all of this ten times harder on himself.”

“What he needs…” Scorpius countered, with a sly grin, “Is an extended stay at Saint Mungos. Against his will.”

Rose laughed. “Very true.”

“I am sorry you had to bring up your dad…” Scorpius said in a quieter tone, “I can imagine that isn’t easy.”

“It’s easier than you’d think” laughed Rose, “I think my dad would’ve been proud I use his absence as a form of pure, unadulterated manipulation”

Scorpius chuckled, “I gather that is definitely true, from anything I’ve heard about him…”

“Besides,” she admitted, “I had already won and he knew it. I pulled the card as an extra bugger off for making me panic so close to show time.”

“Devious.”

They shared a small smile. A moment of silence passed between them. 

“Do you think he’ll be alright?” Rose asked finally, breaking the air. “Like, truly alright?”

“Who, Al?” countered Scorpius, “As long as you’re around, he’ll be fine… I think you mean more to him than he lets on. Where you go, he goes.” He sighed, “But don’t let it get to your head.”   
Rose laughed again.

“Because wherever he goes, I go.” Scorpius confessed, “and you know that.”

“Is it hard being so wholly in love with a complete nut-job?” Rose teased, flicking her wand up and tracing A + S = <3 in a glittering font, against the sky above them. She looked over at him, slyly, but his eyes were fixed on the ground in a pensive manner.

“You have no idea…” he said softly. Her glittering letters slowly fell to the ground and burst into small golden fireworks.

The sun was beginning to rise… pink and orange light shone on both their faces. Although it signaled the end of the evening, the start to another hectic day, she was grateful for the warmth…the golden glow… for a moment, remembering she was in Paris, at sunrise… being present in the beauty that currently surrounded her. She could feel her eyes getting heavy again…

She could hear the faint croon of an accordion, echoing through the streets… She almost laughed. How perfectly french. 

The melody was achingly beautiful…slow and bittersweet…a hint of hope…

“I know this…” she whispered softly, “What is this?”

There was silence. Rose began to think Scorpius had finally fallen asleep. 

“Moon River… wider than a mile…” his soft, sweet voice began to sing, “I’m crossing you in style…someday”

Rose smiled, “Are you singing me to sleep?” she teased.

He just raised an eyebrow, “A dream maker… you heart… breaker”

She wasn’t sure it was the breaking light or the music or perhaps something tucked deep inside her she had yet to put words or feelings to…whatever it was, she slowly leaned her head on Scorpius’s shoulder and let the last leg of sleep take over her…

“Wholly decent, Scorp” she mumbled, not catching his barely concealed grin.

“Wherever you're going, I'm going your way…”

—————————————————————————

Would love to know what you think! xoxo


	2. 2

Rose dreamt of the Burrow that night…

It was a dream she had been having frequently. She was lying on the rug next to the hearth. she could feel the fibers of the woven material beneath her fingers…smell the musky, earthy scent of the wooden beams that stretched across the ceiling. She could hear the familiar crackle of the wood…the whir of outside crickets…the creak of someone moving across the floor upstairs. She felt very small, yet safe and warm. 

All of a sudden, a hand would reach out of the fireplace. She wouldn’t notice it at first, but the hand would slowly reach until it could curl it’s fingers around her ankle. The hand would begin to yank her, pulling her body towards the fire. She would kick and scratch and scream, but no words would come out of her mouth. She would fall into the fireplace, her body feeling like it was burning. All at once she would tumble out into another living room. Like like the Burrow, but cold and grey. No smells, no fire…and silent. So silent. She could hear the pounding of her own heart. Slowly, her body would begin to grow. Her limbs would stretch and ache till she had filled the space. She couldn’t move, she was trapped. She would start to cry…fat, ugly tears that would splash onto the floor beneath her. 

Typically, this is where she would wake-up, startled as if she was flung out of her sleep, catching her breath. However, there was something different this evening. She could hear a faint noise coming from outside the walls of the house…a sweet, melancholy sound…a familiar tune. She wanted so badly to run outside, better hear the song. It was intoxicating and heart-breaking. She tried to move again, but she was stuck, the wooden walls trapping her body in place. 

Oh God, she thought Please wake up, please wake up…wake up…Wake Up!

“-Wake-up. Wake-up.” a pulsing from her wand and a monotonous tone, thankfully, allowed her to push the dreamworld back into its place. 

“Wake-up. Wake-up. Wake-up. Wak-“ she grabbed her wand, flicking it upwards to silence the alarm. It took a moment to reorient herself to where exactly she was waking up. She bolted upwards in a panic What time was it? Where was she? Where was Al? Had they missed their interview? How had she gotten into a bed? 

She scanned the room for a clock. 8:00am. Thank God. She further scanned the room, noting the two sleeping figures in the bed next to her own. Scorp and Marty. A shower was running in a room adjacent, steam pouring out through a crack in the door. She got up and knocked softly. 

“Al?”

Silence. 

“Al?” she said bit louder. She could see Scorpius turn in his sleep. “Al, I’m just making sure you’re alive.”

The door suddenly swung open, flinging steam through the room, a large smile was plastered onto Albus’s face. “Very much so!”

He walked past her so suddenly, she didn’t get a good look at him. He practically bounded to the front door, opening it and exclaiming “Breakfast! Merci, Maurice!”

He carried the tray into the bedroom and set it down on the table, facing away from her. She could tell he was keeping his eyes out her sight on purpose. He was always horrible at being inconspicuous…

She rounded on him, taking in his countenance for the first time since the evening before. 

“Albus Severus Potter!” she gasped, forcefully grabbing his chin and bringing it towards her. There were two dark, purple bruises beneath his eyes and a split lip that was barely beginning to heal. “You git! Did you think I wouldn’t notice this?!”

She jerked his head from side to side, inspecting the damage. 

“I’m sorry, Rosie” he said, “I tried my best to heal it myself this morning”. To his credit, he did sound sorry. Or at least as sorry as she’d heard him be before. 

“Nadia’s going to have a field day with me…” she sighed. Her head began to pound. She must have gotten less than three hours of sleep. “Do I even want to know what happened? And..when did this even happen? When did you get in? Have you slept at all?!”

He gave her a sheepish look.

“No sleep for Al-hey” a groggy voice called from the bed. Marty hobbled out towards the breakfast tray, pouring himself a large cup of coffee. 

She glared at her cousin, “This junket is important, Al. The label is looking to push the album outside of London. That means these interviews need to be flawless. They want to see a gorgeous, tortured artist. Not a brainless, drunk idiot who hasn’t slept in days.”

He pouted, “I am sorry, Rose. I promise, they’ll love me.” he clasped his hands together and rung them dramatically, crying, “Dear, sweet cousin! Please forgive me! I treasure the very ground you walk on. I, nay-, everyone who is graced by your presence, is better off for it! You-“

“-can you please give in, Weasley?” a voice grunted from the bed, “I’d like to spend the rest of my morning refraining from ripping off the head of my band mate.” Scorpius was not a morning person.

Rose’s wand began to pulse where she had left it in her bed, “That’ll be Nadia… Mart, be a love and let her up.”

As Marty left the hotel room, she gave a final glare to Albus, lightly smacking him upside the head, “Be better. And drink some water.” she chastised.

The room was a flurry of movement from that point on. Nadia came upstairs, fussing and fuming over Al’s state. However, a kind word about the dress she was wearing and a thoughtful inquiry about her children was all it took for her to be charmed by him, once again. That’s my boy, Rose thought. 

She poured a generous cup of coffee and set it next to the sleeping blonde. She paused for a moment, taking in his still, calm form. She found herself slightly hypnotized by the rise and fall of his chest, the deep rhythmic breaths…the hair covering his face. She wanted to push them away…sweep them off his forehead, something she wouldn’t have hesitated to do with Al, or even Marty, but with Scorpius…

Not the time, Rose.

She placed a hand on his leg and shook gently.

“Fuck off”, he groaned, turning over.

“What a greeting!” Rose laughed, shaking his leg again. He turned over at the sound of her voice, his cheeks were red. 

“Oh shit- Wesley. I’m sorry. I thought you were Marty.”

She handed him the steaming mug, “You can tell me to fuck off if you like, Malfoy.” he accepted it gratefully and took a sip, “I won’t. But you can still try.”

He smiled into the coffee cup and took another sip. 

“What time is it?” His voice was hoarse.

“You’ve got about forty-five minutes till your first interview.”, she said, moving back to sit on her own bed, “but, I can probably push it back another thirty if you need me to.”

“No, that’s alright” he said, cleaning his throat and taking in the room. 

“I don’t remember getting in last night” she said, “How long have we been here?”

“Maurice, the owner of the building…lovely man…came in around six. He felt awful about us having to wait…put us up in the nicest room.” he took another sip. “He told me Stubby Boardman once tried to kill himself during a stay here.”

Rose raised her eyebrows, “How romantic.”

“Passionate.”, He chuckled.

“Was Al much trouble last night?”

Scorpius looked at his coffee cup, not saying a word.

“Was he-?!” Marty launched himself on the bed, now fully-dressed “Scorp-hey had to go out and bloody drag him back, we barely got inna couple hours ‘go”

She widened her eyes at the blonde sitting in front of her, “You should have had me go out after him. You could have slept for another hour at least…”

“Couldn’t bear to wake you up-hey” Marty chuckled, “carried you up the stairs like a regular prince charmin’ he did.”

Scorpius ignored him and finished the last of his coffee. Rose sighed, trying not to notice the slight twinge in her heart at the thought.

“Thank you…” she got up, holding her hand out to take the empty mug, “Next time, sleep. Please. It’s your beautiful face they want to see fresh and ready, not mine.”

She stepped closer to him, patting his cheek lightly and adopting an affected italian accent, “my beautiful boy… you bring-a your mama so much joy.”

He rolled his eyes and smiled, “But Ma!”

She kissed the tips of her fingers dramatically, tossing them in the air. She ignored the way should could still feel the heat of his cheeks and the scratch of his stubble against her palm…

————————————————-

“So boys, tell us about the past year…” 

Rose was struggling to keep her eyes open. The constant onslaught of reporters and interviewers for the whole of the day had left her feeling drained. She was seated in a chair behind the reporter, practically slumped to a sleeping position. 

It was her job to make sure they were staying true to their time slots. Better known as ‘graciously kicking persons out of the hotel room to usher the next questioner in’. 

She was also there to make sure no one asked any questions deemed to…personal.

“Some have described your success as meteoric. It’s been seemingly non-stop since your single My Amortenia came out last July..”

There was something truly depleting about being asked the same questions over and over again. She could only imagine how the trio being interrogated felt. This particular inquiry was an apparent favorite amongst that days journalists.

“Well…Sylvia-was it?” Albus began, “This year has been absolutely incredible…”

True to his word, Albus had been nothing short of incredible the entire morning. He was engaging, funny, charming and dedicated to keeping the morale up of his two bandmates. The Al she knew and loved. 

“However- we’ve been putting in the work for years now… I’m sure you know- Golden Trio started when we were still at school- Hogwarts. We’d been playing small shows in pubs for years before we-”

“-Interesting…Was it always the same three members?” the polished woman abruptly asked, although it seemed as if she already knew the answer. Rose could feel her stomach begin to knot. Al…don’t say it.. don’t say it..

“No, actually! Marty came on after we graduated and started playing larger shows. Before that, the third member was my co-“

“-Our third member gracefully stepped into a less public role once we started playing larger arenas” Scorpius interjected, his eyes flitting to Rose for a moment, “They didn’t love the uh…limelight as much as us three… egomaniacs do.” he flashed the reporter a charming smile.

The reporter laughed lightly. Rose sighed silently with relief. 

Al, slightly miffed he had been interrupted, said, “Yes… now they just write songs for us.”

“Oh. Do you boys not write your own music?” She questioned. Geez, this woman is out for blood.

“It’s more of a collaborative effort. Always has been.” Al quipped quickly, understanding the reporters implication. He changed his tone to a more wistful one “My Amortenia was written after a show we played in Manchester. There was this…girl, a fan. I saw her in the crowd. I couldn’t get her out of my head. We sat in the hotel room later that night and wrote it all in less than an evening.”

Rose could have laughed. At least he knows how to turn it on.. The song in question had nothing to do with a girl or a hotel. It was written at the request of the label. They wanted something pop and marketable to their young fans and it had just about killed Rose writing it. 

The reporter bought it. “How romantic… did you ever find the girl?”

Al sighed theatrically, “I never did… she’s out there… somewhere.”

Rose caught a very subtle eye-roll from Scorpius. 

“I’m curious about the name…Golden Trio.” The reporter said, rounding back on her interrogations. “It was once used to describe the three young wizards who were crucial in the ending of the Second Wizarding War…and also so happen to be the direct relations to you, Mr. Potter…”

Rose tensed. This question had been asked before…with mixed results from Al. She was unsure of how he was going to react, especially considering the letter she knew was still waiting, unopened at the bottom of his trunk. 

“Well…”, he started, “The name had a much more political connotation 30 years ago. We wanted to take something that was used by the press…and the ministry to-“ his voice became tinged with a mild anger, “-to railroad my family into compliance-“

Rose tensed further, Come on Al…keep it together…

“and-“ he looked at her for a moment. She could see him reorient himself internally, “And- we just wanted give it a bit of fun…you know?” he smiled with mirth, “Also… Trio. One… two… three” he jested, pointing to himself, then Scorpius, then Marty. 

“And what does you father think of it? The name.” she countered, unflinchingly.

Al stared her down, a small smile on his face, “He thinks it’s a right laugh. He loves it.”

On that note, Rose called out, “One minute. Lets wrap up our questions, please.”

An icy smile from the interviewer. “I wanted to do some easy lightning round questions to end. These questions came from our readers who wanted to know a bit more about the boys. Nothing too prying, don’t worry.”

The boys nodded. 

“Lovely.” she said, “I’ll go down one-by-one.”

She turned to Marty,   
“Alright, tea or coffee, love?” 

“Hmm..tea, when ’m at home. Coffee when ’m on the road-hey.”

She turned to Albus, “A night in, or a night out?”

“…There’s nothing I love more than spending the evening at home cooking, or just cozied up with close friends and family-“

A rolled eye from Rose.

“Lovely” she turned to Scorpius, with an abrupt change in tone “Have you ever been in love?”

His eyes widened slightly, but his exterior stayed cool. “Oh absolutely.” he said calmly, “Have you ever had tiramisu? I am completely devoted to the pastry.”

“Times-up!” Rose called out, getting up from her chair and ushering the woman out of the hotel room. “Thank-you so much for coming. So lovely to have you.”

There was a deep exhale from everyone as soon as the door shut. 

“Rosie.. I need to get out of this hotel room. I’m going batshit.” Al was rubbing his face slowly with his hands. 

“I thought you loved spending cozy evenings at home”, she joked, opening the balcony doors and calling to Nadia.

“You’ve only got one hour left.” She handed each of the boys a glass of water, “Then you’re free to do as you please until tech rehearsal,” 

She turned to Nadia, “Their last few interviews are going to be photographed…can we make sure they’re looking more camera ready? I think Al’s personality defects are beginning to show…” she smiled mischievously. 

“I don’t think I can bear it for another hour, Rosie” Al complained, “I really don’t.”

“If I can manage to listen to you tell the girl in the crowd story for the thousandth time, you can talk about yourself for another hour.”

Al huffed, but sat resolutely in his chair as Nadia applied power, and combed and mussed where was necessary. 

“Oi- I’ve got to-hey” Marty got up from his seat,”…point the pink pistol at the porcelain firing range, if you know what I mean..“

“Charming-you are.” sighed Rose. She turned to Scorpius. His head was lying back on his chair, eyes closed. 

“Tired?” she asked, walking towards him. The short sleeves of his button up had become un-cuffed through the course of the day. She went to roll them back up. 

“Thank-you,” he said quietly, “I hadn’t even noticed.”

She moved to the other side, rolling the adjacent sleeve. 

“You don’t even like tiramisu”, she teased lightly, “In fact, you don’t even like cake. Or am I going out of my way every year to get you a birthday parfait for no reason?”

He smiled, “I can’t be the only one around here allowed to tell fibs to the foreign press…”

“Was‘fraid you were gonna say your left hand, mate!” Marty had come back from the restroom. 

Albus laughed, “That would have been a riot. Please say that next time.”

“Please don’t.” Rose chided. “Tiramisu is a welcome alternative to…that.”

Scorpius said aloofly, “My right hand, lads.”. Rose smacked him lightly on the arm. He gave her an unaffected smile, but his cheeks were painted a slight shade pinker than normal. 

The rest of the hour passed by without a hitch. The boys were all on their best behavior. Al was charming and enthusiastic, Scorpius was engaging and thoughtful, and Marty…well, Marty was always a laugh.

Nadia left. They wouldn’t see her until tonight’s show. Al, unencumbered for the moment by responsibility, left the hotel, Marty on his heels. Scorpius, who had neither the desire or tenacity to run on so little sleep took to his bed and quickly fell into a deep slumber. 

Rose thought she would take the time to catch up on correspondence, but as soon as her head hit the pillow of her bed, her eyes became heavy and a dreamless sleep took over her.

——————————————————

Rose woke as the sun began to set. The high, white ceilings were awash in oranges and pinks. Scorpius was still asleep in the bed next to hers. If she wasn’t so tired…or maybe was an entirely different person, she would have spent a moment taking in the beauty and stillness of the moment. However, she was still the same Rose.

She took a deep breath, finding her wand in the sheets beneath her. It glowed a deep turquoise. A darker shade of blue depending on how many messages she had awaiting her. Since she began managing the band, the glow had really never been lighter than a royal blue. 

She flicked it upwards, the turquoise glow turning into a hazy swirl in front of her. A lofty voice came from it, 

“Rose, it’s Deliah. So sorry, love. I got the times all turned around for your check-in. They’ll be expecting you in the AM, not PM. Hope yo-“

Rose flicked her wand to the left, silencing and removing the message. Thanks a ton, Deils. Would have been helpful to know before we slept on the literal streets of Paris. 

The next voice began to materialize through the haze. A louder and slightly belligerent one. 

“Are you in the city right now?! Lou says you and the boys are in Paris and I don’t believe him. Because if you were in Paris, I know you would have told me. I mean, I haven’t seen you in months, Rosie. I hope, wherever you are, it isn’t Paris. Because if you were, in fact, in my city and didn’t bother to let me know….well, you’d be dead to me. Okay. Adore you always! Bye!”

Rose laughed to herself and slowly turned her wand, pointing the tip against her neck.

“Lily. You’re absolutely spastic. You know that, right? We’ll be at La Magie after the boys go on. I know you don’t like our crowd at the shows, so come see us there. Around 1-ish. Bring friends. Bring Lou… Don’t bring the attitude.” 

Rose paused, thinking what to say for a moment, 

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you before-hand, your brother has been hellish… Like I need to tell you that. I’ll see you tonight.” A little sarcastically, “Adore you always.”

The haze pulsed for a moment, changing from it’s deep blue color, to an emerald green. Sent. The next message started. A soft and familiar voice came through.

“Hello, my love… I hadn’t heard from you since Wednesday, so I thought I would check-in. I want to hear all about Belgium. I’ve been reading a novel by a wonderful author, Georges Simenon, he’s from Belgium. A delightful novel, full of mystery…intrigue. I’ve thought of you while reading. I’ll give you my copy when I see you next. I do hope you’re taking care of yourself. I hope the boys are doing well. Give my love to Scorpius, and Al- of course…If that boy only knew what he was doin-” 

There was a pause. Rose could hear a distant noise in the background. 

“That’ll be Ed…Ed! I’m leaving a message for Rose right now, come say hello.” 

Another pause and a lighthearted voice rang out. “Hullo, P! We miss you ‘round these parts! Your mother has a Belgian book she wants you to read, but if you ask me…it’s a right bore. I’ll see if I can find a way for it to, ah… accidentally be used as kindling.”

Rose smiled as she heard her mother scoff and shoo Ed away. Hermione’s voice came back through.

“Come and see us soon, my dear. Once your back in London for good. I want you for at least a week. I’ll see if Hu- Ah.. oh, it looks as if we have an interloper…”

Rose could hear a smattering of tiny footsteps, then a small voice.

“Mummy, who awe you tawking to?…”

“Rosie, dear. Do you want to say hello?”

“Wose?! Where is she?!” 

Her mother laughed softly, “I’m sending her a message. Right now. Do you want to tell her anything?”

“I weally, weally want to…tell her…about…my new dwess!!” 

Rose laughed out loud, she could hear her mother laughing as well.

“Well, there you have it. Jane has a new dress and it’s really all any of us can talk about.”

“It’s wainbow colors!”

“Yes, it’s rainbow. Quite the statement. Alright, I love you, my sweet Rose. Be good and be safe.”

“I love you too, Wose! Bye!” shouted Jane

“Bye-bye!”

Rose played the whole thing through again. Basking in the momentary warmth of her mothers voice, and the charm of the family playing out their lives across the continent.

“Trying not to be thoroughly chuffed about it, but I do love knowing that your mother offered her love to myself before Al” a voice called out from the adjacent bed, “When I’m on my very last breath, I will still relish the thought that the Hermione Granger loved me more than her own nephew.”

Rose laughed, “Of course she loves you more than him. You don’t cause me half as much grief as he does.” Rose moved to sit up in bed, stretching her arms, “I’m sorry for waking you up, I didn’t realize I was being so loud.” 

“I didn’t mind. It’s… nice hearing familiar voices. If I was even capable of feeling home-sick, I imagine it’s the emotion I’m experiencing currently.”

“Emotion? Careful, Malfoy. That thing you have in your chest where a heart should be is starting to malfunction”` 

“Then I take it all back. I weally didn’t enjoy it.”

Rose laughed, putting her hand to her heart “I mean…that girl. Sometimes I think I’m one hair shy of an absolute sociopath and then…’Wose’, I melt.”

“You are the farthest thing from a sociopath, Weasley.” Scorpius chided. 

“Don’t be so sure..” said Rose, raising an eyebrow, “I could be a master manipulator and you’re all just… under my spell.”

He gave her a look then. A look filled with something she couldn’t exactly figure out. He opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and laughed lightly. 

“Has Ed always called you ‘P’?” He inquired, getting out of his bed and walking to the bathroom, “I’d never heard him call you that before.”

Rose got up as well, moving to the find the water pitcher. “It’s a bit of an old joke…” She called out. “I was pretty…well- beastly to him when we first met.” She located the pitcher and poured herself a glass.

Scorpius laughed, “Does ‘P’ stand for Poison…Pest…Punk?”

“Pernicious” she joked, taking a drink. She could hear Scorpius chuckle from the bathroom. 

“It actually stands for Petunia, strangely enough.” She called out, finishing the water and moving to pack the bags necessary for the nights travel. “He met me for the first time and called me ‘Rose’ which is -as you know- my name…but I told him he got the wrong flower. I was feeling..”

“Ornery?” Scorpius came out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe, toothbrush in hand. 

“Ornery. Exactly.” said Rose, placing a folded pile of shirts in a trunk. “It didn’t phase him, fortunately. He just asked me to remind him which flower, as it must have slipped his mind, so I said Petunia. Which I think was honestly just the first flower I could think of” she smiled lightly, remembering, “So he asked if he could just call me ‘P’. I didn’t agree or disagree…but it sort of stuck.”

“That’s sweet.” said Scorpius, rinsing his mouth at the sink. 

“Yeah, Ed’s a good man. He’s put up with more than most ever really should.”

Scorpius came out of the bathroom, “I don’t remember you being that awful.”

“You didn’t meet me till we were in 5th year, Malfoy” she retorted, “I was terrible to him. And my mother. And everyone, actually.” Rose crouched to look under the beds, making sure nothing of importance had made it’s way down there during the course of the day.

“What made you stop?” she heard him ask.

“I’m charmed you think I’ve stopped being terrible.” she teased, reaching further beneath the bed and brandishing a stray sock. 

“Sorry, I meant-“, she could hear the mocking tone in his voice “What made you stop being that particular brand of terrible? I’m fully aware of your current state of being…which I would categorize as less ‘terrible’ and more…

“…Pernicious?” she ribbed, finding the matching sock she was looking for. 

“Absolutely.”, he chuckled. She got up to find Scorpius was wordlessly helping her pack up the room. She felt another very inconvenient twinge in her heart, but shook it off and continued to pack in silence. The only sounds we made by the flick of their wands and the soft rustle of clothing. 

Scorpius tentatively broke the quiet… “I am curious, though. Why did the change happen?”

“Well…I’ve never thought about that, actually.” she responded, slowly. She was turned away, “I…was just really miserable. I had only Al. And he was miserable too. I think finding music, for both of us. That was a turning point.”

“Having an outlet..” he said, softly.

“Exactly. Having something to finally feel excited about…to be proud of. I’m sure you get that.” she flicked her eyes up for a moment to meet his. She felt relief when she saw he was bent over, locking up a trunk. 

“Also”, she started, “I woke up one day and realized I was making my mother miserable. And I was being an absolute lunatic to one of the only people in her life who was making her happy.”

“Hmm”, Scorpius had finished locking the trunks and was sat on the stack, looking at her. 

Sometimes she forgot how much of her life he had been specter to. And she his. For a moment their eyes met. Rose felt a refuge in his gaze. There was something that felt safe in the moment. 

“Oh my gosh!” she jumped, suddenly smiling, “I just remembered…Do you remember when we snuck out with Al to play Cruciatus Club and Ginny showed up to drag us all home?”

Scorpius laughed “I still can’t go to Cruciatus to this day with out a bit of post traumatic stress.”

“I really thought that was it. I’d finally pushed it too far. Like, my mum may actually have murdered me.” she said, widening her eyes dramatically.

“But” she continued, “Ed convinced her to go easy. I think he was actually really proud of me.. of all of us.” 

She had moved to sit on the now-made beds, words starting to spill out of her. 

“And then they found out they were having Jane…and I got to watch my mum experience this amazing and terrifying thing…and have this new life? Or a chance to repair all these… wounds? I don’t know…it put so much into perspective.” 

“I remember that…” he said, almost to himself.

“Yeah, and then all of a sudden there was this…just perfect, beautiful thing that was part of our lives…and were all just there, as a family, loving this baby. Even Hugh…who’s basically a house cat. And we were…happy? Like, so so happy…It was crazy”, she laughed a bit. Giving him a look that said I can’t believe I just told you all of that. 

He nodded, and said slowly “I think it’s speaks a lot to Ed…that none of that was in the plan for him. He didn’t look into the future and see Jane being born or your mum in her ministry position or Hugh painting… or you running this entire operation.”, he looked at her, with a joke in his eyes. “With little-to-no hiccups”

She smiled and sighed, leaning back onto the bed, an over-the-top effect “My work… is my art and my life…is my art and you boys… are my paintbrushes and this life …is a canvas-“

“-And the world is a stage-”

“-And we are all together.”

They laughed again, settling into an easy silence.

“Well, I think with Ed, it just shows that there’s a lot you’d do for the person you love…” said Scorpius with reverence. Rose stared at the high, white ceilings, taking in his words. 

There was something different about him lately. They’d spent their entire youths aware of one another, and their entire adult lives in physical proximity. 

But they’d kept one another at arms length throughout it all…both much more content communicating through jokes and snippy remarks while reserving the bulk of their emotional labor for Al. She wasn’t sure why they had done this…perhaps it was necessary. Perhaps it was the best way for them to stay, for the band to function…for them to function. 

“Oh yeah?” she said suddenly, needing to break the tension. “How’re things going with you and Tiramisu?”

Without a beat Scorpius sang out “Youu, and Tiramisuu…broke my heart in twoo-”

“-Now I’m blueee”, chimed in Rose, the spell broken and their usual rapport resuming. 

“So I’ll bid you…Adieuuu” he finished on a high, clipped note.

Rose laughed again, sitting-up in the bed. He had moved to the table facing the window. She checked the clock. 7:30.

We’re going to need to head down soon…she moved to begin taking the trunks downstairs, but found herself taking a moment to gaze at the boy who was, himself, currently gazing at the moon. 

If she had been a different person, she may have blurted out any of the million questions she had for him. If she had been a different person, she might have sat for a moment and gazed at the moon alongside him. If she had been a different person, they might have sat there, staring at the moon and telling each other their hopes and dreams. If she had been a different person, they both might be somewhere else completely and this moment fraught with so many unanswered questions and so many things unsaid would have been long past…

But she was Rose Weasley, and instead of any of that, she grabbed her wand and moved their trunks downstairs and their lives forward. 

 

——————————————————————————————————

Would love to know what you think! Any questions you have! 

xoxo BFS


	3. 3

Rose’s head was swimming. It was close to 2am and it seemed as if the evening was only getting started. La Magie was the place to be that night.

The club was known for it’s ambiance and ever-changing interiors. From the entire dance floor being replaced with a lilac, cloud-like foam and the bartenders sprouting feathery angel wings, to the interior encapsulating a multi-colored thunderstorm that left you stained and soaked till you made it to your table, you never knew what to expect. 

Tonights theme existed in some sort of ethereal realm inhabited by a quartzy drizzle of stardust that seemed to fall in slow motion and land everywhere but in your drinks. Precious stones had been enchanted to take drinks orders, so everywhere you looked there were glowing rubies, diamonds and sapphires whizzing to and from the bar-top. She had not intended to drink that much, but something about the atmosphere and energy of the night left her feeling ready for anything…

“Basile is an absolute mad man!” she heard a low voice say in her ear over the booming music. She turned to see Scorpius looking at her, a dusting of the aforementioned shimmer covering his hair, cheeks and lashes, “A beautiful, creative genius. But a mad man.” he shook his head, the glitter dancing in a small frenzy between the two of them. “I don’t think I will ever get myself fully clean of…whatever this is.”

Basile Debroux, the owner and designer of La Magie was a distant familial connection via the Delacour’s, but had since become close acquaintance due to the frequent attendances at his club from Potters and Weasleys alike. Scorpius was right. He was a mad man. 

“Haven’t you heard?” She said back, laughingly. “He’s in love!” 

Scorpius widened his eyes, “Basile? Not possible. With whom?”

“Just some bloke!” She cried, “He’s totally average, doesn’t run in the same circles. Nobody knows him…”

“How do you know any of this?” Scorpius asked, incredulously. 

She took a sip of her drink, some sort of swirling cosmos in a glass. “Oh, I have eyes everywhere, Malfoy. You have no idea.. While you’re up on stage, I’m gathering intel…Always.” 

He rolled his eyes, and sipped his drink as well. 

“That’s what all of this is, though. All this dreamy sparkle bullocks. These are his…love emotions personified.” she looked down at her dress, now fully dusted in the silver haze, “and they are…all over me!” 

A cloud of the glimmer shot in the air and fell drowsily as Rose attempted to shake it off of herself. As soon as she had wiped herself clean, more of the sparkle had taken it’s place.

She sighed, “Absolutely useless.”

“I definitely do not want to be here during his inevitable heartbreak…that would be a literal nightmare.” Scorpius mused, widening his eyes. 

“Oh my goodness, blood dripping from ceilings-“

“-The dance floor is a tar pit-“

“-The waiters are skeletons!”

“-No, bogarts!”

They were both laughing so hard, they didn’t register the commotion happening at the table next to them. All of a sudden, Rose looked up and Al was standing on the table, shouting at a tall, willowy red-head who had finally made an appearance. 

Al was completely gone. And barely managing to stay balanced on his newly-deemed platform. “Oh, look who decided to drop by…it’s Princess Potter!” he shouted, punctuating each “P” with an accusatory spilling of his drink in her direction.

Lily, with a genuine posse behind her, eyed him up and down disdainfully, “Don’t even talk to me, you stupid fucking prick. I’m not here for you. I’m here for Rose.” she glanced over at Rose and gave her a cool wave. 

Rose raised her glass in solidarity, watching the scene unfold in front of her. 

“Oh, fuck-off Lily. You’re drunk.” said Al, pushing his hair off his face and glowering at her. 

“You’re drunk!” she cried, shoving her bag to one of her friends behind her and jabbing her finger at him.

“We’re all drunk!” shouted Scorpius from his seat. Rose stifled a laugh and shoved him lightly with her elbow. 

Albus jumped down from the table “Who let her in here? I need to speak to someone in charge.”

Rose rolled her eyes. Always the theatrics with these two.

Lily rounded on Albus. “Do you have any idea the kind of shit I’m getting every day because of you? Mum and Dad are constantly on my arse-” 

“-Not my fault, sis!” shouted Albus, not backing down, “Stop fucking a man twice your age and move back home!”

Lily got a wild look in her eyes. “Oh that’s rich, coming from you. Stop avoiding Dad and you move back home!”

Al waved his hands wildly, selling his drink even more. “I’m doing shit, Lily! I can’t just up and leave every time Dad wants to have a chat.”

Lily moved in further. They were practically nose to nose. “Ohhh, get a life, will you?”

“Get a JOB, will you?” he roared. They looked as if they were about two seconds away from casting curses. 

“Mon dieu! Stop it with zis madness! You are making ze glitter stop..” a small voice called out. One of the girls who had attached herself to Al during the evening, chimed-in. 

The outburst caused everyone in the party to look up. The girl was right, the air around Lily and Albus had become stagnant and the dust that fell freely around the rest of the club, hung in the air like ash and was flecked and grey. 

“Bad vibes, man…” said one of Lily’s cronies in a low tone. An American, undoubtedly. 

Both Lily and Albus turned on each other again, narrowing their eyes and sizing up the challenge. Then, resolutely, they said in unison; 

“Shots?” 

“Shots.”

As if on a cue, one of the enchanted gems came whizzing by, carrying a tray filled with small glasses holding a deep, purple liquid. 

“To my dickhead bother” shouted Lily, raising her glass.

“To my idiot sister” shouted Al, raising his. 

To my completely insane family, Rose thought

The party cheered. The small, grey flecks of dust burst into beautiful silver fireworks and rained down as they drank together. 

The concoction made her vision a foggy lavender for a moment. Rose set her glass down and shook out her hair, in an attempt to rid herself of both the sparkles and the purple haze . A booming voice came from above her.

“Wow, what did I miss?” 

She looked up to see a bright-eyed, familiar face.

“Louis!” she called out, giving him a warm embrace. “You look gorgeous!” 

He gave her a kiss on the cheek and sat down next to her. “You didn’t miss anything you hadn’t seen before…” quipped Rose, eyeing the siblings with a wary look.

“Classic Potter brother sister show-down?”, he asked, smiling.

“Oh, you bet”, said Rose, dryly

“Let me guess…swears and accusations?”

“Yes.”

“A crowd of people with their undivided attention?”

“Check”

“Al stood up on the couch?” He quizzed

“No, actually, this time it was the table” she laughed

“Damn, so close…” he mock-clenched his fist, and hit the table, “And, to end it all, there were tears… or whiskey?”

“Pixies Pond. Top Shelf.” she said, looking back at the pair. Both were now playing catch-up as if they hadn’t just come close to ripping each others heads off, less than 10 minutes prior.

“Just another evening in the company of Lily Potter…” He mused. 

Louis looked her up and down, ”Rose..you are absolutely coated in this stuff, you look like a nymph on New Years” he said, referring to the silver glitter, “Now that I look, more than anyone I can see in here tonight. You must be sitting near a vent or something…”

Rose looked down again, everywhere she turned, her body was covered in the shimmer. 

“Don’t you know?” she joked, “I’m part Veela… this is just my true form beginning to show”

Louis laughed, “I’m part Veela. We do not sparkle. We shine.” he winked. 

His eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of something over Rose’s shoulder. “Oh gods.. he’s even more gorgeous than I remember…” Rose didn’t even have to turn around to know exactly who he was referring to.

“Oh, and he’s covered in all that exquisite glitter floating through the air. You two are like a couple of candelabras.” his voice took on an exquisitely posh tone, “I’ll take him to the west wing any day of the week, darling.” 

“Lou, for the last time, Scorpius isn’t going to sleep with you…but if you ask nicely, he may let you see him without his shirt off.”

“I don’t want to just see him with his shirt off. I want him…I need him. I need him to need me.” pouted Louis laying his head precociously on Rose’s lap.

“I’ve heard you say those exact words about at least a hundred other men, I think you’ll do fine without him.” she reassured, patting his head. 

“He’s just so bloody beautiful, Rose.” sighed Lou, placing his head in his hand and gazing at the aforementioned boy, “That jawline…those eyes…his skin. I want to lick his skin, Rose. Lick it.” he said, sitting up suddenly.

“How drunk are you?” she questioned with a laugh.

“Drunk in love…I don’t know how you don’t just stare at him, all day.”

“I do stare at him all day” she countered, throwing a hand in the air, “And Mart, and Al. All I do is stare at them. I’m I’ll probably die staring at them.”

“Poor Rosie” said Lou, pouting, “Nobody’s here to stare at you…”

“You’re an absolute twat.” she said, laughing and shoving him off the sofa. 

“And you’re an absolute bore.” he said, dragging her down with him. He lowered his voice. “You know you wouldn’t mind an evening spent in the care of those beautiful alabaster hands. You’ve seen the way he handles an instrument. Imagine him playi-“

“-Lou, you are an unmitigated pervert!” she said getting back up and pushing the boy towards the direction of the dance floor, “Dance off this amorous energy and come back when you’re ready to speak to me in a civilized manner”

“Or I find a beautiful boy to take home!” Lou called out as he made his way into the crowd. 

Rose turned back to their table, scanning the top for her drink. Her eyes rested on a pair of *ahem* alabaster hands that were animatedly explaining their way through a conversation she couldn’t hear over the music of the disco. 

Those hands were often relatively restrained and steady in their day-to-day activities. However, when a drink or two had coursed through their owner, they were lively and effervescent. She found herself thinking of all the ways she had seen those hands interact with the world around them. Curled in triumph…clenched in anticipation…frenetic in handlings of many musical counterparts…soft and unencumbered during a well-earned sleep. All the ways…except one. The club suddenly felt very, very warm…

She realized in her musings, the hands she had been analyzing at had stopped moving. And she had been staring. Too long. Damn you, Louis.

“You alright over there, Weasley?” the owner of said hands called out, “That Pixies Pond fog you up too much?”

“Probably!”, she laughed, “Pixie’s always gives me horrid flashbacks to evenings spent almost dying in our dormitories from alcohol poisoning.”

“Too true..” he chuckled, “I was just reminiscing with Lily about a Hogwarts bash where…I think it was you…either you, or Al charmed a suit of armor to get on his hands and knees and buck anyone off who tried to ride him.”

She had been so distracted, she hadn’t even registered the body sitting across from Scorpius as that of her younger cousin’s. 

“That was for my American themed party. It was the closest thing we were going to get to a mechanical bull!” said Rose, “Remember my red cups?”

“You were insistent on them,” mused Lily, running her finger around the rim of her glass. “How far we’ve come…”

Rose located her glass, and moved to sit next to Lily. “Now that you’re done making your grand entrance….Hi.”

Lily rolled her eyes, “Sometimes it’s just a little tough to stomach the prodigal son”

“Not prodigal, yet” said Scorpius, leaning back, “He hasn’t come running back home.”

“Very true” agreed Rose, clinking her glass with Scorpius’s. 

“He’s a wanker. And he’s my brother. Which means I’m allowed to hate him more than you two. He’s just…so horrible to me.” 

The two of them stared at her, attempting to contort their faces into ones of sympathy. They were struggling. It was hard to feel sympathetic towards the Lily Potter. She, out of all the Potter/Weasley’s had been blessed in terms of brains, beauty and any other extraneous qualities one might tack on to someone of higher regard. 

She was wealthy, fun, and gorgeous. There wasn’t much in her life that wasn’t afforded in terms of luxury and privilege. Albus was probably the only person who had come close to being “horrible” to her in ages.

“And- Leo isn’t twice my age. He’s 40.” she said, pulling a face and recrossing her legs.

“Aren’t I supposed to be the one with daddy issues, Lil?” said Rose, cheekily, “Why in the world are you with that man? He’s closer to your father’s age than he is to yours.”

“He’s interesting and gorgeous, Rose.” she countered, “Give me a decent, wealthy, handsome man closer to my age…who’s fit to kill in the sack and I’ll happily leave my pruning pocketbooks and settle down with a more appropriate age match…but until then, leave me be.”

Rose thought, for the sake of politeness, she should at least offer-up her single, successful band-mate as a potential suitor. Especially considering he was sitting right next to them. However, there was something in her stomach that knotted immediately at the thought of Lily even getting the slightest inclination. 

“Besides” continued Lily, thankfully. “You are the last person who should be giving me grief about dating. You haven’t been with anyone since Dennis and that was over two years ago. You’ve probably forgotten what it’s like to get f-“

“A quick photo of our fine patrons?” a voice called out. Rose couldn’t even see the face of the inquisitor, as it was blocked by a large camera, that was already flashing profusely. 

The trio paused for a moment, giving him what he wanted. They all knew this was part of the job, but it didn’t stop Scorpius from uttering a small, “Fucking press..” under his breath. 

After the photographer had left, Rose rounded back on her cousin. 

“Lily, just because I haven’t been with anyone doesn’t mean I haven’t been with anyone.” she said, giving her cousin a deliberate look. Normally, she would not be so giving with that sort of information, but there was something about Lily’s aura and the amount of magical liquor she had consumed that brought out Rose’s more competitive side. 

Lily looked immensely pleased.

“I’m not a nun, Lils” she said dryly, “I do alright for myself.” Rose didn’t want to admit the true banality of her bedroom encounters since her last relationship (and even before then, if she was being honest.) As much as she hated to say it, there was really no one to write home about.

“Well I, for one, am very proud you.” Said Lily, with a very ‘Lily’ look in her eyes, “If you’re interested…I’ve got a friend I think you might do really well with.”

“Lils I’m not looking for anything-

“-Serious? I know. He’s absolutely perfect for that. He’s busier than you, Rose. Gorgeous body, so intelligent… sometimes just hearing him talk is enough to put you ov-“ she paused, looking up, “Oh my god, it’s changing! How exciting…wait. No… just around us…Actually, just around you, Malfoy”

Rose looked up as well. Lily was referring to the silvery droplets of light that had been cascading throughout the entire night. However, now, they had turned into a deep…almost blood red. At least, the ones currently swirling loftily around Scorpius.

His eyes widened as he realized the attention was being brought to himself. He looked at his personhood, confirming the existence of the color change. There was a look in his eyes she caught, for neigh of a second, that registered almost as…panic?

She turned to Lily and caught a slight narrowing of the eyes and a subtle clack of her fingernails against the varnished table. All of this, directed towards Scorpius. 

As soon as she could turn her head back to her friend, he had an easy smile on his face and the droplets had turned back into their original silver shine. 

“Must have been a trick of the light…” said Lily slowly, eyes still narrowed.

“Maybe you’ve had a bit too much to drink, Potter” said Scorpius with the same easy smile. 

Rose felt like she had missed something. Before she could utter a word, Lily had stood up and extended her hand to Scorpius. 

“Come dance with me, Malfoy. I want to dance.”

Rose was bewildered when he moved to get up and follow the lanky red-head. She gave a what the hell look, but he wouldn’t make eye contact with her. She sat on the couch, mystified, as Scorpius and Lily made their way into the dancing mob. 

She had half a mind to run-up after them, she was so perplexed.

As if on cue, her wand began to pulse. She took a look at it. Red. Must be Tommy. 

She sighed and made her way to a quieter part of the establishment. The thick, carpet coated powder room was a welcome change of pace. However, it was merely an extension of the raucous main hall in terms of aesthetics. The walls were an intricate explosion of geodes and gems. The mirrors, a focal point in the circular room, looked as if they were cut from the purest, pinkest rose quartz. Rose walked up to one, running water and lightly splashing her neck. An attempt to make herself a bit more coherent before taking a business call. 

She sat on one of the low chaise’s lining the room, and flicked up her wand, taking a deep breath in. 

“Rose, darling! How are you?” she heard Tommy’s voice call out. His breathing sounded labored. 

“Lovely, as always.” she said, running a hand through her hair. 

“How did the boys do with the press?”, the labored breathing continued.

“They were on excellent behavior. Gold stars for all of them” she quipped. “You sound out of breath, Tom. Are you alright?” she asked leaning again the cool slabs of geode. 

“Just going for *breath* an evening run, love” he got out. 

“Isn’t it close to 2am in London?” Rose asked, amused. 

“6pm. I’m in *breath* Los Angeles. Didn’t I mention? Big *breath* big things happening for WSR over here.”

“Don’t you already have an American office?” she asked, not entirely sure why she was entertaining this conversation. She had to admit, she had always been intrigued with America in a sense. Every artist she admired had come to the states at some point to further their musical prowess. 

“In New York, yes. *breath* But Weird Sisters Records has *breath* no ground here in LA. Music is in Los Angeles, love. Everywhere you look there’s a new band, new label, new venue.” His labored breathing had stopped momentarily. “We’re trying to beat out Alistar Records and Pygmie. We’re bringing on a new exec. American. Big things happening, Rose.”

“Does this mean the boys and I should pack up our sunscreen?” she asked cheekily.

“We’ll see how your European tour goes, love” he said, slyly. “But that’s not why I called. I’ll be in the city tomorrow. You and I are going out to dinner. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Tom, are you setting me up?” she joked.

“In a sense, darling” he said resuming his running, “I think you’ll be immensely pleased.”

“Trusting you…” she said, adjusting her position against the wall. 

“Lovely. *breath* Deils will send you details. Dress to impress, mm?”

“When do I ever not, Tom?” she sighed

“That’s my girl. Caio from the *breath* Hollywood sign!”

And the call disappeared quickly into her wand…

She took another deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. 

“Ça fait longtemps, dis donc” an airy voice called from above. She opened her eyes to see a pair of twinkling dark eyes beneath a sheen of long lavender hair.   
“Basile!” she exclaimed, standing quickly kissing him on each cheek, “Bissou bissou, mon cherie”  
“Quoi de beau?” he inquired, gesturing to her.   
She blushed, “Je suis désolé, Basile. My french is not good. And I’m a little drunk”

He laughed, “Bien, bien! That iz good. That iz what I want!”

She laughed as well, “It’s incredible in here. So beautiful…so thoughtful. When are you opening a club in London? I need one closer to home.”

He raised an eyebrow playfully, “We will see…I go where le couer goes.” he said placing a hand over his heart. “Parlant de ce qui…speaking of” he said eyeing her up and down. “Who did you come with, tonight?”

She widened her eyes, “No one!” she laughed, “Just the boys…why?”

He lightly grabbed her hand, lifting her arm into the light, “Le éclat..the glitter. It iz all over you”

“I think I was standing near a vent, or something..”

“Non, mon aime” he said leaning closer, a playful look his eyes, “It ‘az a mind of it’s own.”

Rose scrunched her brows, not fully understanding his implication.

“It loves ze beating heart” he continued, “Flushed cheeks…starry eyes…etre amoreux”

“Well, it must have me confused with someone else” she dismissed, but she could feel her cheeks turning red. Her mind immediately thinking of the grey ash-like flecks during Lily and Al’s row and the blood-red ‘trick of the light’ that surrounded Scorpius. What had they been talking about? Her head was still swirling…

Basile opened his mouth to say something. All of a sudden, the club shook with the opening beats of a song Rose was unfamiliar with. It seemed as if she was in the minority, as the entirety of the establishment roared with recognition and appreciation. 

The dance floor was suddenly swarmed and the quartzy drizzle was transformed into a disco-like bursting of blue’s and pinks. 

‘Je vis dans une galaxie  
Ombres saturée’ A sultry voice rang from all around. 

“Who is this?” shouted Rose to Basile over the amplified sound. 

‘Chagrin et symétrie  
D'un décor penché’

 

“Angèle” he said, excitedly, “She iz the latest craze from Paris.”

‘J'ai attiré les foudres  
De ce monde doré’

“This is crazy!” exclaimed Rose, looking out over the dancing mob, “I’ve never seen anything like it. How have I never heard of her before?”  
‘Les paillettes et la poudre  
Sont signe de danger’

“She’s very young, but she iz going to be huge.” he said tossing his long hair over a shoulder. “Sometimez she will come to Magie, maybe you will see her tonight.”

He kissed her cheeks and floated away, calling out, “Suis ton coeur! Follow your ‘eart”

The song was incredibly intoxicating. Produced with the intent of making it’s listener forget their troubles for a moment to dance and sweat to the frenzied beat. 

Rose made her way to the dance floor in search of Lily and Scorpius. She found them joined by Albus, his groupies, Louis, and Lily’s nameless group of followers. They made quite a presence on the floor. 

“This is unreal!” shouted Albus, grabbing her hand and spinning her. “I’ve never heard anything like this!”

“Me either!” shouted Scorpius, who had joined them. “We need to-“

“-Talk to Mak. I know.” finished Albus. Both him and Scorpius were having one of their wordless conversations. Mak Wagtail was a producer at WSR, who helped create the sound Golden Trio was known for. 

“This is Angèle!” called out Lily, referring to the song playing and silkily dancing her way towards them. “She’s a friend. She’s amazing. The next big thing, I swear.”

“That’s what I keep hearing!” laughed Rose. 

She found herself getting lost in the music, allowing the booming synth to carry her up, and away. The sparkle seemed suspended in a heavy gravity that allowed it to swirl and pulse along with the movement of the dancing crowd. She become so lost in the moment, she didn’t realize the rest of the group had broken away and it was just her and Scorpius dancing together in the crowd. 

They both laughed when they realized they had been abandoned. Scorpius held out his hand clownishly and bowed, making her cackle. They spent the remainder of the song dancing in wild, ridiculous ways, attempting to amuse the other one. Rose felt a serene sense of belonging in this silly exchange. She was thankful for their friendship and thankful there was no one, for the moment, forcing her to examine the way his eyes lit up whenever he laughed or the way her heart was pounding (not just because of the physical exertion) or how her skin heated up at the slightest touch from him. 

And, as the night came to a close, and they finally managed say their goodbyes to Lily and Louis, and pull Al from his adoring fans, she was thankful that no one pointed out how when the light hit her and her momentary dance partner, they were blinded by a glittering, glowing cascade of dreamy sparkle that seemed to have missed the other members in the party. 

As they hailed a car and made their way to the final destination, the voice of Basile repeated in her mind. 

“It ‘az a mind of it’s own.”


End file.
